John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS team enter this weekend’s NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway sitting ninth in the Camping World championship points standings and are looking to make up some ground at the third of six events in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
Force and the PEAK team are on the hunt for their first win of the season. They’ve reached the finals once at the rain-delayed New England Nationals, but Force has made four trips to the semifinals and qualified inside the top half of the field at 11 of 17 events so far this season including picking up the No. 1 qualifying position at the Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle. Last weekend, at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte for the Carolina Nationals, Force had a consistent race car during qualifying securing the fourth spot but ran into trouble early on race day for a first-round exit.
“It’s been a tough season, we’ve struggled, but we’re not out of it yet. It’s competitive in Funny Car, maybe the most competitive it’s been, so no one is running away with it yet,” Force said. “We’ve had some consistency lately, figured some things out, so we just need to keep at it, keep our heads up. I think we’re all looking forward to St. Louis and hopefully ending these three back-to-back races on a good note.”
Force has a total of three wins at World Wide Technology Raceway in 1999, 2002 and 2013 and three No. 1 starts at the facility in 2010, 2014, and most recently in 2019. Last year, after qualifying No. 2, he raced to the semifinals where he was bested by reigning world champion Ron Capps.
The NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway starts with three qualifying sessions Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying shows Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET.
